Monday, November 20, 2006

It's Looking Like Barry Bonds Will Stay in the Bay

We are about a week into the free agent signing period, and it's looking more and more likely every day that Barry Bonds will be back in the Bay Area for the 2007 season. The only question may be, is will it be as an Oakland Athletic or as a Giant. The A's have been the most public team to express their interest in Barry Bonds, as he fits their moneyball philosophy to a T. The A's however, declined to match the Blue Jays offer for Frank Thomas which was paying him about 18 million dollars over two years, and it is highly unlikely Bonds will play for anything less than 12 million dollars this season. It would seem like his most likely destination is San Francisco, but the Sabean and Scott Boras don't seem to be talking to often, and it appears as if the Giants aren't making it a priority to sign Bonds. Regardless, all signs still point to Bonds returning to San Francisco. It is starting to seem like a more logical move for the Giants as well. There aren't that many quality free agents out there, and the ones who are quality are commanding outragous dollars. Bonds for 1 year and 12 million dollars doesn't look so bad in this market. The two teams I am pegging as the darkhourses for Bonds' are the Angels (even though Arte Moreno said he would not pursue him earlier) and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have been especially quiet this offseason and two of their top targets this offseason are already off the market (Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano) they may enter the Bonds' sweepstakes. The Sox do already have David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez as a DH and left fielder, but they are trying to deal Ramirez. If Barry Bonds truely wants to win a world series ring, he'll have a helluva lot better shot at doing it in Boston or Oakland.

As far as other free agents go, the Giants have been extremely quiet. They haven't made any additions this offseason. The have been so quiet that either they are on the verge of doing something soon, or they really are not making progress with anybody. It was encouraging to see that the Giants did actually pursue Alfonso Soriano, and it appeared that they where amond a "handfull" of finalists for the outfielder/second basemen. The have also been mentioned as possible suitors for Carlos Lee, and now that Soriano is off the list, they may now inquire about Lee. The problem is, the other 8-10 teams who missed out on Soriano are also going to be all over Lee, and he may end up getting the same deal Soriano did (8 yr. $136 million) and I doubt the Giants will offer more then a 4 or 5 year deal. Lee is a premier right handed bat, a shoe in for 30-40 home runs and 115 RBI's and he is right in his prime (30 years old). The only question with him is his weight and limitations. He has managed to be serviceable as a left fielder, but each year it seems like he gets bigger and his range declines a bit. He seems like an ideal DH, but has indicated that he wants to play the National League. First base may be an option for him if he lands in the NL long term.